Coroner announces inquest in shooting

GREENSBURG (AP) — A coroner has scheduled an inquest into a state trooper’s fatal shooting of a man who reportedly attacked the officer with scissors at a Westmoreland County supermarket.

Coroner Kenneth Bacha will hold the inquest Tuesday at the county courthouse in Greensburg. Bacha routinely holds such public hearings on police-related shooting deaths.

A 10-year veteran trooper identified by Bacha as Chad Cope shot Seth O’Donnell, 26, of East Huntingdon Township, on Jan. 4, allegedly after O’Donnell tried to stab the trooper with scissors. Police have said most of the blows were absorbed by the trooper’s bulletproof vest, though he did receive six stitches for one cut to his head.

Police said O’Donnell was acting erratically before police were called to the Save-A-Lot on Route 119 after O’Donnell began eating snacks without paying for them.